Persona, a new interactive visual art exhibition at Galway's Black Box Theatre that features art makers with intellectual disabilities, has been created by lens-based artist Martin Maguire.
It uses augmented reality to make objects appear on demand as spectators interact with the work. These digital objects include 2D portraits, video and spoken word audio.
The concept was based around the idea of perceived identity – 'persona'.
Maguire wanted to explore the many layers that exist between us and another individual. "These often-opaque barriers can be populated with bias, preconceptions and assumptions, he says. What is it like to truly see another human being? What is revealed when we take time to properly look and potentially see past a ‘character’ or ‘archetype’ we have assigned other people in haste?"
The artist comes from a background in performance, having started out as actor in children’s theatre before playing Finn in the RTE programme The Morbegs, and now works as a photographer in the film and television industry. His projects are often a blend of his background in performance and his skills in photography. Persona features spoken word, performance and art, filmed in high speed.
Maguire believes that augmented reality has a future in visual art exhibitions. "It opens up the possibility of visual art to have another layer of experience," he says. "Augmented reality is often confused with virtual reality, but they are two different things. Augmented reality puts a digital object into the real world, and that’s interesting and exciting. There’s real potential for that in the art world. I think it will be everywhere in the future."
Persona runs from 4-11 November at the Black Box Theatre, Galway - find out more here.
